bike ride

The last time I was on my bike was at the beginning of August last year. I think I was like two months pregnant by that time and even though I wasn’t really showing yet, it was definitely getting harder to bike to work like I had been doing. Morning sickness sucked. Then on the ride home my heart rate was getting too high and I just had to take too many breaks. Then my back went out…so biking was pretty much over for the season.

I thought about getting on the bike this summer but I never did. Honestly I don’t know that my core/back was strong enough postpartum until now. I’ve been doing a lot of PT exercises and core exercises to strengthen my back and things have gotten a lot better.

Anyways, Sunday instead of swimming I went for a bike ride. We had plans to go to Michael’s mom’s house for brunch and I (thankfully) got a chance to sleep in a little bit so I didn’t have time to swim.

I got my bike down in the garage and dusted off the cobwebs (seriously, a lot of them) and both tires were flat. I pumped them up and let it sit for a bit while I got dressed and ready to go to make sure that they held air ok before I went out.

Another plus side to wearing a cycling bib instead of shorts? They fit even if you are 20 pounds over your ideal weight!

It was a little chilly but once I got moving and out of the shade it was the perfect temperature. I biked the route I take into work.

I got stopped by the train for a few minutes but other than that I didn’t need to make many stops. I was surprised at how easy it felt being back on the bike (other than the saddle, of course). Perhaps the walking/jogging I’ve been doing lately has gotten me back into shape for cycling.

I didn’t go as far as I had wanted to go before I had to turn around. It was getting late and I still needed to go home and clean up and get Logan ready for brunch. So I turned around and went back the same way. And I was surprised, again, at how easy it was going up the killer hill home.

It doesn’t look like it but this hill is really long, slow and at a constant incline. It’s not incredibly steep but it’s steep enough to get your heart pounding and it’s a constant uphill climb so you never get to coast or really take a break. But this time it was incredibly easy for me to do.

It was a fantastic little ride. I went pretty hard for my first ride back because I was so short on time. I wanted to get my calorie bang for my buck.

I was glad I got in a good workout in the nice summer weather. We aren’t going to have many more of these kinds of days!

After that we went to brunch. There was a lot of tasty food for brunch. Michael’s mom made a cheesy potato casserole, an egg and meat breakfast casserole, fresh fruit, deviled eggs and blueberry scones.

And I had my first Bloody Mary in like a year and a half. 🙂 Yay for brunch!

Logan did great for his first brunch outing. And we got to show him off to some friends and family that haven’t met him yet.

It was a really good day and a good distraction for me. Monday is the first day of daycare for my little man! So the bike ride and brunch were good distractions … at least until the afternoon.

I’m hoping I can go for a few more bike rides before the weather turns poor. I don’t see myself biking to work this year, though. There’s just too much stuff I have to take to work in order to pump. But by spring next year maybe I can get back into it!

My training is coming along slowly. Perhaps a little too slowly, but I don’t want to overdo it and then not be able to run at all. I’ve come to peace with the fact that I will just be a slow runner. Such is life. Here are the previous posts about my training:

My goal right now is to do most of my running outside. The weather is getting better and I hate the treadmill. My current regret is really about how long it’s taking for me to get through the program. I want to 3 runs a week but it’s usually not feasible. Twice a week is about all I can do with all the other things I do. I know I should drop something (even if it’s just temporarily) but I really don’t want to…

On Friday, June 6th I biked to work after a few weeks off. I was working a half day because my bff Rachel was coming down to visit from Seattle and it was SO nice out how could I not bike? I parked at the park-and-ride and biked in. Starting at the park-and-ride makes the commute a little longer than when I start from Sellwood but not by too much. Even though it was only maybe 2 miles longer than what I had been doing before, I felt it. My back was a little fatigued and my seat was sore. I plugged along and didn’t go too fast. Here are the stats for the morning ride:

7.58 miles! Woohoo! I felt pretty good when I got to work and didn’t feel like my knees were going to hurt or my muscles were going to tighten up too much. I think it was a blessing that I only worked a half day and got to bike home before that happened! It was really warm out at noon when I left but not miserably hot. I took my time because I wasn’t in a rush to get home. HOW COOL IS THAT? I’m always hurrying. It was nice to just leisurely bike and stop to see the sights.

I took it easy and my knees were much happier. The Springwater trail was pretty empty, too. Another plus for leaving work early! Here was my mileage for the ride back to the park-and-ride:

14.62 miles biked, 720 calories burned! Woohoo! I like seeing that higher number. I got cleaned up and then Rachel arrived and we were off for pedicures, grabbing take-out food and bringing it back to the house to relax. We sat outside on the deck with a bottle of wine and some dinner and just got caught up. It was nice to have some girl time. And it was even better when I woke up the next day and wasn’t SORE AT ALL!